Всероссийский открытый конкурс по английскому языку “Open World” (9-10 классы)
олимпиадные задания (9 класс) на тему

Всероссийский открытый конкурс

по английскому языку “Open World”

Конкурсные задания для учащихся 9-10-х классов

Task 1. Form words suiting the sentences by adding necessary suffixes or prefixes to the words in brackets. Sometimes you have to mind a verb form. You get 1 point for each right variant.

The human race has one really (1. effect) weapon, and that is (2. laugh). (M. Twain) Every portrait that is painted with (3. feel) is a portrait of the (4. art), not of the (5. sit). (O. Wilde) Love, (6. friend) and respect do not unite people as much as a common (7. hate) for something. (A. Chekhov)

Task 2. Read the passage. For questions 1-5 you are to choose the one best answer. You get 1 point for each correct answer.

Louisa May Alcott, an American author best known for her children’s books Little Women, Little Men and Jo’s Boys, was profoundly influenced by her family, particularly her father. She was the daughter of Bronson Alcott, a well-known teacher, intellectual and free thinker who advocated abolitionism, women’s rights and vegetarianism long before they were popular. He was called a man of unparalleled intellect by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Bronson Alcott instilled in his daughter his lofty and spiritual values and in return was idolized by his daughter. Louisa used her father as a model for the impractical yet serenely wise and adored father in Little Women, and with the success of this novel she was able to provide for her family, giving her father the financial security that until then he had never experienced.

1) This passage mainly discusses a) L. M. Alcott’s famous books b) how B. Alcott implemented his educational philosophies c) the success of Little Women d) B. Alcott’s influence on his daughter

2) The passage implies that vegetarianism a) was more popular than abolitionism b) was the reason for Louisa’s adoration for her father c) became popular in a later period d) was one of the reasons for B. Alcott’s unparalleled intellect

3) The word lofty in bold type is closest in meaning to a) commonplace b) high-minded c) self-serving d) sympathetic

4) It can be inferred from the passage that L. M. Alcott used the success of Little Women to a) buy herself anything she had ever wanted b) achieve personal financial security c) give her father tangible proof of her love d) detach herself from her family

5. The author’s purpose in the passage is to a) explain how an author becomes famous b) describe the influence of family on a writer c) support B. Alcott’s educational theories d) show the success that can be achieved by an author

Task 3. Find out what pen names the below-mentioned writers used and what is behind their pseudonyms. A couple of sentences is enough. For each correct answer you get 1 point.

1) Igor Mozheiko

 2) Daniil Yuvachev

3) S. L. Clemens

4) V. Zilber

5) N. Korneychukov

Task 4. Match the idioms that relate to books on the left to their definitions on the right. You needn’t write the definition – just a corresponding letter. You get 1 point for each right choice. You can get 1 more point if you fill in the sentences you see below with the correct idioms. This time you should write the idiom – a corresponding letter is not enough. Mind the verb forms.

1) by the book a) to read books all the time

2) throw the book at b) according to the rules

3) have one’s nose in a book c) to use every method possible

4) hit the books d) to begin to study

5) use every trick in the book e) to charge or convict someone with as many crimes as possible

6) close the book on sth f) to accept that a difficult or unpleasant situation is over and to stop thinking or worrying about it

1) Though we ……… we still couldn’t get it done.

2) He doesn’t deviate from the prescribed procedures even a little bit; he always goes …….

3) If you want to pass this test tomorrow, you’d better ……..tonight.

4) We …… the painful past and looking to the future.

5) We thought he’d get off with a lighter sentence, but they really ……..him.

6) Every time I see him, he ……..

Task 5. Find the odd word out in each group. For each right choice you get 2 points.

1) A. Akhmatova, I. Bunin, Z. Gippius, V. Mayakovsky, V. Khlebnikov, A. Delvig

2) R. Kipling, T. Mann, R. Rozhdestvensky, B. Shaw, B. Pasternak, A. Solzhenitsin, J. Brodsky

3) Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Much Ado About Nothing, All's Well That Ends Well

4) The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Giant's Bread, Five Little Pigs, Cat Among Pigeons, Murder on the Orient Express

5) A. Doyle, D. Bedny, R. Gamzatov, K. Kollodi, S. Marshak, Voltaire

Task 6. Guess the name of the writer. You get 1 point for each correct name.

 This writer

1) was born and died on one and the same day-April 23.

2) was working in a hospital dispensary and learned a lot about chemicals and poisons.

3) couldn’t pronounce the sounds [l] and [r] due to a childhood tongue injury and had to change his name Kirill to Konstantin.

4) received a prison sentence for embezzlement and began his literary career there.

5) was irritated by the Eiffel Tower and frequented it for dinners, because only inside it he was safe not to see it.

Task 7. Find answers to the following questions. You get 2 points for each correct answer.

1) What did Vladimir Soloukhin, a Russian and Soviet writer, metaphorically call “prosthesis for memory”?

2) Finish the quotation by M. M. Prishvin, a Russian and Soviet writer, “If we don’t preserve nature, soon it (nature) will turn into…”

3) Name the play which is the longest running in the world. It has been on the stage since 1952.